Folks-

Design is not merely about decoration, it is about shaping the users' interaction with the piece (web site, software, book, etc,). The interface that one presents to the user IS the software, in their mind. If the user cannot find--or cannot understand how to use--a feature, then (in their mind) it does not exist--even if its in the code.

We have gone to some trouble and expense to find software that has certain features that will make our users comfortable with our forums. However, does the interface we are currently presenting insure that this feature will be utilized?

1. vBulletin supports threaded messaging. If there are two prominent and easily-identified button that cause a reply to be added to the end of a thread, and two small cryptic buttons to allow people to reply to a specific post, then people will use the prominent ones and we will have linear threads. If we delete the "Reply to thread" buttons and make the specific post buttons more-clearly-identifiable, we will encourage threaded discussions.

2. If the posts contain no way to refer back to the parent post, the threads will be hard to follow. If we add a link back to the parent message to each post, we will discourage extensive quoting.

3. If the user is initially presented with a linear view, they may never realize that threading is available--can we really depend one everyone exploring enough to discover what's under the "display mode" button on a thread? We should make sure to present them with our preferred view from the moment they arrive.

4. After reading a long thread, having to scroll all the way back to the top of the page to navigate to the next place is inconvenient and annoying. We can repeat the breadcrumb and the navbar at the bottom of the page.

5. If our forum is not an adjunct to a larger site--is the centerpiece of the site (the central reason for its existence), the user should be taken as directly as possible to the forum. Forumhome should be our home page, the users' landing spot. And as such, needs to have a place for a newsflash/welcome message. We can re-arrange Forumhome to allow for this, and in a way that makes it easily-editable. It would also be a very good idea to have the ability to feed customized messages to different groups of readers.

All of the above require only template modification.

How we arrange the interface shapes the users' experience an perception, and by extension, the very nature of the forum and its discourse.

Thoughts anyone?

--don

[Staff Note: Thread moved to style techniques forum]

1. vBulletin supports threaded messaging. If there are two prominent and easily-identified button that cause a reply to be added to the end of a thread, and two small cryptic buttons to allow people to reply to a specific post, then people will use the prominent ones and we will have linear threads. If we delete the "Reply to thread" buttons and make the specific post buttons more-clearly-identifiable, we will encourage threaded discussions.
Do you have a visual example of this? I think this could work out quite well .. but I just can't visualize this.

2. If the posts contain no way to refer back to the parent post, the threads will be hard to follow. If we add a link back to the parent message to each post, we will discourage extensive quoting.
Unfortunatly we do experience that a lot of people quote manually or copy/paste and stuff like that, so it actually creates more confusion sometimes. I've seen this on a few boards who have such hacks from vborg installed. Personally I understand what you mean and agree, but out of experience I wouldn't use this.

3. If the user is initially presented with a linear view, they may never realize that threading is available--can we really depend one everyone exploring enough to discover what's under the "display mode" button on a thread? We should make sure to present them with our preferred view from the moment they arrive.
You mean limit it to the usercp>options if they want to switch? The downside of this is that I have a preference and sometimes prefer to also have only a certain thread in threaded or hybrid. Now I can switch on the fly. WIthout affecting my preference.

4. After reading a long thread, having to scroll all the way back to the top of the page to navigate to the next place is inconvenient and annoying. We can repeat the breadcrumb and the navbar at the bottom of the page.
I agree, a small template mod could at least place it in showthread. I sometimes forget this, but I prefer to link to the archive thread and print thread and email thread and i Hope the future brings download thread link too, and I also forget to put the breadcrumb below the thread or just above the footer.

5. If our forum is not an adjunct to a larger site--is the centerpiece of the site (the central reason for its existence), the user should be taken as directly as possible to the forum. Forumhome should be our home page, the users' landing spot. And as such, needs to have a place for a newsflash/welcome message. We can re-arrange Forumhome to allow for this, and in a way that makes it easily-editable. It would also be a very good idea to have the ability to feed customized messages to different groups of readers.
I agree, splashpages or inactive frontpages are not the way to go. I believe on vBulletin-fans.com you get the forum in your face, but with links to frontpage.php .. for example.


Nice thoughts you have there!

Do you have a visual example of this? I think this could work out quite well .. but I just can't visualize this.
I have attached a grab to show what I'm talking about. I grabbed from here--not to single your styles out, but because it was convenient. The most-prominant button makes linear replies--I have deleted it from my forum, and made the others bigger.


Unfortunatly we do experience that a lot of people quote manually or copy/paste and stuff like that, so it actually creates more confusion sometimes. I've seen this on a few boards who have such hacks from vborg installed. Personally I understand what you mean and agree, but out of experience I wouldn't use this.No hack needed--only a lowly template mod.

Put this in the postbit:
<if condition="$post[parentid] != '' && $post[parentid] > 0">
<a href="showpost.php?$session[sessionurl]p=$post[parentid]" target="new">
view parent message
</a>)
</if>



You mean limit it to the usercp>options if they want to switch?Nope, just set the default to hybrid--show 'em it exists.

What do you think of what I proposed here (http://www.vbulletin-style.com/showthread.php?t=96)

--don